


If I'm Not Falling On The Rink, I'm Falling For You.

by koreabooeauty



Series: This Thing We Call Youth [1]
Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Answer, Fighting, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Happy Ending, Homophobia, I wasnt alive in the 90s, I'm Bad At Tagging, M/M, Mentions of Blood, Not Good Parents, Underage Drinking, Yikes, based in the 70s, cursing, how do i write for the 70s, its not good writing, perhaps a series??
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-14
Updated: 2019-02-14
Packaged: 2019-10-26 18:37:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,034
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17751293
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/koreabooeauty/pseuds/koreabooeauty
Summary: Park Chanyeol is a troublemaker, he always has been. With his three friends, Oh Sehun, Kim Jongin, and Do Kyungsoo they were the feared students in the 70s. Except once you got to know them, then you would know that Chanyeol cried at everything, Sehun had a troublesome past that keeps catching up with him, and Jongin and Kyungsoo are fearing for their futures. Add another friend group, the most popular boy in their school, Byun Baekhyun, Zhang Yixing, and Kim Jongdae, and things got a whole lot messier. Did I mention that this is also based in a hot dog shack?





	If I'm Not Falling On The Rink, I'm Falling For You.

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! I wrote this in three days, edited in ten minutes so I might have missed quite a bit,,, Hopefully you can ignore that, I sure did try though. I'm still not sure how to spell Junmyeon's name,,, one of these days i'll get it right! Cringey title,,, yes but shut up,, its cute,,, Without further ado, I hope you enjoy! Comments and kudos are very appreciated, it'll get my but in gear to write for the others!

When Chanyeol had applied for a job at the local roller skating rink, he hadn't expected to actually get a call back, nor had he thought he'd actually get the job. See, Chanyeol wasn't a bad worker per say, he was really kind to customers and always did things with a smile. It just so happened that Chanyeol was also a student and often studied into the wee hours of the morning and woke up late. Extremely late. 

His worst memory was when he was late for his own birthday, it'd be fine if it was ten or fifteen minutes, but this was a whole hour and a half, and he didn't even remember who's birthday it was!

He accepted the job, not that he had much of a choice in the matter, his mother had been on his case to get a job since the day he turned seventeen, something about responsibilities or whatever. 

It had been a month and a half since his first day on the job, which hadn't gone as well as he wanted but he got what he expected. Was he late? No. Did he spill cola all over himself and trip over his words to every single customer? Yes, yes he did. But he did it with a smile!

His shifts varied, but he was usually stuck with odd hours and weird days of the week. Monday morning as soon the roller skating rink open, you could expect Chanyeol sitting in his hot dog booth, wearing his dumb uniform that was made to look like ketchup and mustard were on him. 

It was July, his second to last summer of being in high school. His friends had already laughed at his uniform but he had laughed at them falling down while 'skating'. You'd think a wannabe dancer like Jongin would be more graceful, but he was not. Chanyeol would compare him to his drunk aunt at Christmas after she found the liquor that his mother had stashed away, hoping that she wouldn't find it. She always did, Chanyeol wasn't sure why his mother tried anymore. 

Kyungsoo was alright, he stumbled here and there, but after a while Chanyeol wasn't sure if the small male was doing it on purpose to make Jongin feel better or not. Sehun, was much better than expected, he skated circles around the other two and kept going off by himself to flirt with the other skaters, going so far as to wink at himslef in the mirror multiple times. 

That was a typical shift, what he had come to expect. 

So when one day, his friends hadn't stopped by, he thought it'd be a boring day until he stopped by. 

He being the one and only Byun Baekhyun. Also a soon to be senior in Chanyeol's school, a class clown yet also the class pet. Everyone knew Baekhyun like everyone knew his best friends, Yixing and Jongdae. The three had gotten close since the first year of high school when Yixing moved to their town. Jongdae and Baekhyun had already been friends since kindergarten, so they were already a duo of clowns, now they were a trio of fools, pretty ones but fools nonetheless.

Chanyeol had been in the same school as the three, but he'd never gotten a chance to talk to any of them besides an occasional 'excuse me' or 'hello'. Chanyeol and his friends compared to Baekhyun's trio were troublemakers. Except for Kyungsoo who was top of his class, the other three were, interested in other things to say the least. 

Where Baekhyun would make his classmates laugh, Chanyeol was interested to see how many times he could leave math class undetected. The answer as of last year was twelve and a half, he would've gotten to thirteen if it wasn't for kyungso throwing an eraser at him. 

Whilst the four would attempt to have study sessions, they'd always devolve into a gossip group while they got junk food with whatever money they had on them. Baekhyun and his crew were different, they went to the library to actually study, they were called the pretty boys in school. Chanyeol and his friends had matching leather jackets that they found at a thrift shop. 

As Chanyeol was daydreaming and wiping the counter with a rag that was dirtier than the counter, he heard the squeak of the wheels on the rug, meaning that someone approached him in his small hot dog shack. Looking up, Chanyeol dropped his rag on the floor, quickly bending down to get it, only to hit his head on the counter. 

Groaning, Chanyeol clutched his head, squatting on the tiled floor.

"Are you alright?"

A voice that was trying not to laugh asked, his voice was light and airy, making Chanyeol fumble as he stood up, grasping on to the table to not fall down. 

"Fine! Yes, i'm. Wait, what?" 

Chanyeol stumbled over his words, grimacing as he questioned what he just said. Baekhyun giggled, holding his wallet in his hands. The black dots that clouded his vision disappeared, slowly allowing him to see the light brunette boy in front of him. 

"How can I help you?"

Chanyeol asked, standing up straight instead of his previous hunched self that had to grasp the table to not fall down. Baekhyun skimmed the menu, his eyes lighting up as he saw something the called his name. 

"Can I get an order of cheese fries please! With a water." 

Baekhyun's eyes practically sparkled, Chanyeol had to stop himself from flushing, punching the order into the register. 

"That'll be two dollars and forty cents, please."

Baekhyun nodded and gave him a five, Chanyeol gave him his change and went into the back to make cheese fries. According to Chanyeol's manager, you were supposed to skimp out on everything you could, fries included. Chanyeol wasn't able to without feeling guilty and usually just made a suitable amount, with a reasonable amount of cheese and bacon, so that's what he did. 

Walking back to the counter, holding the tray that held the cheese fries and a water bottle. Placing it on the counter, Chanyeol noticed two dollars in the tip jar that had been empty only a few minutes ago. 

"Thank you, Chanyeol!"

With that, Baekhyun grabbed the tray and he was gone. Chanyeol froze, startled by the older teen calling his name. Looking down at his uniform, Chanyeol made sure he wasn't wearing his name tag. He knew he took it off, he hated the thought of so many strangers knowing his name. It wasn't hung on his pocket like it was supposed to be, and there was no way Baekhyun had seen it through his pants pocket. So that could only mean one thing. 

Byun Baekhyun knew his name. 

-

It had been a few weeks since the first time Baekhyun visited the roller skating rink, but it wasn't the last, in fact he'd been there at least twice a week by Chanyeol's count, maybe more if his visits weren't only during Chanyeol's shifts.

His friends had continued to make fun of him, they had known of his slight infatuation with the light brunette before he'd seen him at the rink, now that he'd seen him plenty, now with shared smiles and quick banter, Chanyeol was falling deeper and deeper. 

It was his day off, a Saturday. You'd think that was the day they needed him but nope, apparently Mondays and Wednesdays were the shifts that were empty. So instead of doing his summer packet, studying, or sending in applications to colleges, Chanyeol was at a diner with his friends. 

They were wearing their leather jackets, even if Sehun complained that they looked dumb all together. Chanyeol laughed, saying that Sehun looked dumb anyway. A bruised shoulder in the shape of a fist was worth it when he saw the younger teen roll his eyes, and they were at the diner, drinking as many milkshakes as they could.

Another typical Saturday.

Leather jackets weren't the only reason they were getting strange stares, it might have to do with Sehun wearing platform boots or his jeans with chains, maybe it was Jongin and Kyungsoo who were holding hands and laughing at Sehun's stomping, or it was about Chanyeol who was pointing out that Sehun could just take off his jackets if it really bothered him that much. 

They had grown used to the stares, it was either they learned to deal with it or fit themselves into the social construct. They went with the first choice, it seemed so much more fun. 

They were squeezed into a booth, laughing at Sehun spit balling at Jongin who retorted with a wet willy, mature teen stuff. As they waited for another round of shakes, Kyungsoo nudged Chanyeol, getting the tallest males attention. 

"What, Soo?"

Chanyeol questioned, staring at the black haired teen. Kyungsoo pointed at the entrance of the diner, making Chanyeol squint to see what he was pointing at. At the double doors of the diner stood Baekhyun and his crew. The three held bags from stores and were laughing. Chanyeol flushed, immediately turning his sight away from the trio. 

Unlike Chanyeol's leather jacket and jeans, Baekhyun wore high waisted pants with a flannel tied around his waist and a white tank top. He looked like he wandered out of a catalog compared to Chanyeol's grunge esque fashion that typically came from goodwill and other thrift shops. 

The four got their milkshakes, Sehun's arriving with a slice of cake as well. The youngest had quite the sweet tooth to his brothers chagrin, it was always a fight between the two. Since their parents had disappeared, Junmyeon had become the legal guardian of his step-brother. It had been three years, Sehun had gathered some sort of disdain for his parents after their disappearance. What the public hadn't known was that they left after Sehun had come out. 

The day after, Sehun returned home with Chanyeol in tow. He had slept over at the elders house, not excited to return home. From what Chanyeol could gather between the crying was that it hadn't gone well, but he could tell that by the fading red mark on Sehun's left cheek. 

At Sehun's apartment they had expected to see the two stood there, perhaps ignoring their don or even beginning the fight from last night all over again. Instead what the teens saw was an empty apartment. The living room had been stripped of all signs of living, the only remaining furniture being the couch and the ugly rug they had gotten from Kyungsoo's mom.

It was a strange week and a half, lots of angry tears and tantrums. Junmyeon had returned after being called by the police, he'd requested a transfer from his office job in New York to California. 

Chanyeol knew it was the guilt that Sehun struggled with, that he'd caused his parents to leave and his brother had to give up his dreams for him. Even the littlest argument caused Sehun to spiral, they'd find him days later in an alley passed out. 

Maybe that's why the three babied the youngest, even Jongin who was barely older treated the younger like he was a child, gifting him with sweets and letting him sneak through the window into his room to spend the night. 

When Chanyeol was shaken out of his thoughts, he was horrified to see Baekhyun in front of him, all six males looking at the tall teen. Chanyeol flushed, quickly looking at Kyungsoo to plead with him to save him from the awkwardness he'd unknowingly created.

"Baekhyun asked if you wanted to sit together."

Kyungsoo stated, smirking at Chanyeol. Chanyeol nodded, and the four moved over to a table that could seat all of them. 

The seven of them got to talking, the extroverted males easily taking over the conversation while the introverted ones listened and put forth their words in where they wanted. 

Baekhyun was sat across from Chanyeol at the furthest edge of the table. Taking a sip from his milkshake that had deflated quite a bit, Chanyeol's attention was dragged away from the conversation when Baekhyun called his name. 

"Yes?'

Chanyeol asked the brunette, staring at him. The older teen smiled, a whipped cream mustache on his cupids bow causing Chanyeol's stomach to fill with butterflies. 

"Can I have your cherry?"

Baekhyun asked, making Chanyeol gawk at him. Chanyeol had his heart on his sleeves, or more likely, his blush on his ears. His ears already stuck out, now having them be red garnered much more attention than he would have cared for. 

"My what?"

Chanyeol stumbled over his two words, making Baekhyun laugh. It sounded so precious that Chanyeol wanted to record it and keep it forever, bottle it up inside his memories and never let it go. 

"Your cherry! I see you going around it.Can I have it?"

Baekhyun pointed out the fruit that remained in Chanyeol's mostly empty milkshake. Chanyeol, flushed harder, realizing that the question had been perfectly acceptable. 

Chanyeol fished out the red fruit that had spots of whipped cream on it, offering it to Baekhyun. Instead of plucking the fruit with his own fingers, he got closer to the fruit and used his mouth to grasp it out of Chanyeol's fingers. 

Chanyeol stared, his face probably redder than the cherry had been. Baekhyun smiled, his eyes shutting as his tilted his head to the right. Chanyeol smiled back, to the best of his abilities. 

Baekhyun didn't need to know that the cherry was Chanyeol's favorite part. 

-

A month had passed, Chanyeol's last year of high school was coming up fast. He had so much to do, he'd begun to wonder what he'd spent his summer doing. Between working at the hot dog booth and spending time with his friends, he'd only done half of his summer packet but honestly that was more than anyone was expecting him to do. 

He had to quit the hot dog shack soon though, he kept putting it off hoping to see Baekhyun again. It had been a week since he'd last seen the trio, the last time was at a beach on a Wednesday. Had it been planned by them? Not to Chanyeol's knowledge and he wasn't sure that it was plain coincidences anymore. 

It was a Thursday afternoon, his sister had gone out with some friends and his parents had gone to some party. They had said he could invite Sehun over but the newly dyed orange haired teen was grounded, Junmyeon hadn't been too thrilled with the new hair color. Chanyeol's parents hadn't either but they'd gotten used to their son going along with Sehun's antics. 

So Chanyeol was sat on his bed, in his pajamas at a reasonable time, four in the afternoon to be exact. His guitar sat in the corner of his room, begging to be played but Chanyeol couldn't be bothered, his mind was to muddled with thoughts of the future. 

Soon he'd be off to college, for the first time since second grade he and his friends wouldn't be together. Jongin had gotten into an art school, which they had all been excited for but it was an underlying thought that they were in fact growing up, they had things that had to be done and wouldn't have time for each other anymore. 

Sehun wasn't going to college, he wasn't sure what he wanted to do. Chanyeol couldn't blame him, there had always been so much going on in the younger teens life to navigate around that he had never gotten the chance to figure out what he wanted to do. 

Kyungsoo wanted to be an author, his parents wanted him to be a doctor. So he was going to med school, in New York. That had put a damper on things, especially between Jongin and Kyungsoo. They had just gotten together and by this time next year, they'd be in different states. It'd been awkward last time they'd all hung out, they'd ended up back at their houses before sun down. 

Chanyeol's was knocked out of his worried state of mind by the phone ringing. He had a passing thought to ignore it but the last time he'd done that he got an earful from his mother, so downstairs he went. Speed walking into the kitchen, he picked up their red phone from the base and humming into it.

"Chanyeol?"

Chanyeol all but dropped the phone, surprised at the familiar voice. 

"Baekhyun?"

The teen hummed back, giggling over the line. Chanyeol was breathless, the feeling of butterflies back in his stomach. 

"How'd you get my number?"

Chanyeol asked the brunette, racking his mind to see if he had blurted it out at some point. As far as he could remember, he had not. That was too smooth for him, the best he had done was compliment Baekhyun's shoes, and even then he had made it sound like he was going to steal them. 

So yeah, flirting wasn't going well. 

"Sehun gave it to me." Baekhyun paused, giving a moment for Chanyeol to think how unlikely it was that the teen had given his number to his crush with good intentions. "He said to say sorry that he couldn't hang out with you today?"

That was more like Sehun, the teen apologized through others. Before Chanyeol had found it frustrating, he still did but not as bad as before. 

"Yeah, that sounds like him."

Chanyeol agreed, nodding even though the elder couldn't see him. 

"What's up with him? Why couldn't he hang out with you guys?"

Baekhyun asked, causing Chanyeol to hum again, trying to figure out how he should phrase what he wanted to say. 

"His brother grounded him, Junmyeon wasn't thrilled with Sehun's hair. It was only me he would hang out with, he's avoiding Soo and Jongin, too awkward to third wheel, even for Sehun."

Perhaps he could have phrased it better but it was still better than the usual garbage he spewed. 

Baekhyun made a sound of acknowledgement, understanding the drama that came along with friends. There was a minute of silence, a race to see who could come up with something interesting to say to keep the conversation going. 

"Do you wanna hang out tomorrow?"

Baekhyun won. Chanyeol nodded, then realized that the elder couldn't see him so he voiced his agreement. 

"Cool, see you tomorrow?"

"See you tomorrow."

Another moment of silence, listening to Baekhyun laugh quietly as they stayed on the line. Chanyeol joined in, his cheeks dusted pink. 

"Hang up, Park."

Baekhyun said, breathless as he whispered. Chanyeol could imagine the brunette, fingers playing with the cord of the phone as the spoke, his eyes twinkling as he listened to Chanyeol speak. 

"Not before you, Byun."

Baekhyun snorted, commenting how gross they sounded before hanging up, leaving Chanyeol to the silence in the line. A dopey smile painted on Chanyeol's face as he hung up the phone, leaning his head against the wall. 

Baekhyun wanted to hang out with him.

-

Friday came slowly and quickly at the same time, Chanyeol couldn't sleep last night. At some point he'd picked out an outfit but after that everything was a blur. Getting dressed into the white t-shirt and high waisted jeans he'd picked out. Deciding on a over shirt instead of his leather jacket, he headed out of his room. Saying goodbye to his parents, he walked out of the house. 

Walking the two blocks that it took to get to Baekhyun's house, Chanyeol knocked on the door. Waiting patiently, Chanyeol messed with his hair, anxious to see whoever would come to the door. 

Thankfully it was Baekhyun, not his parents. 

"Hey Chanyeol! You ready to go?"

Baekhyun asked, shutting the door behind him. The two walked, making conversation as they walked to their destination. Baekhyun hadn't told Chanyeol where he was taking him, nor what they were going to do. 

As they approached town, Chanyeol knew where they were headed. He had to laugh as he watched the rink come into view. 

"Seriously?"

Chanyeol punched Baekhyun in the shoulder, causing Baekhyun to laugh. The elder shrugged, grasping Chanyeol'd hand and dragging him along. Once they entered the rink, Chanyeol waved to Minseok who was working the counter. 

"What's your shoe size?"

Baekhyun asked, removing his shoes and putting them in a cubby nearby. 

"Size ten, you?"

Chanyeol asked, doing the same with his shoes, freezing when he looked at his socks. Of course he picked the socks Yoora gave him for Christmas, the ones with breakfast foods on them. Baekhyun stifled a laugh by coughing into his palm, his cheeks pink.

"Size eight."

Chanyeol nodded, walking to the counter to get their skates. Ignoring Baekhyun's calls to get back. 

"Hey Yeol! Didn't expect too see you here today."

Minseok said, hopping off of the chair he had been sat on. Minseok was a college student, also one of Chanyeol's favorite co-workers. Minseok was at a communal college, he also didn't rat Chanyeol out for giving too many freebies out. 

"I didn't expect it either, Min. Eight and a ten please."

Chanyeol held out a ten dollar bill, only to be waved off by Minseok. 

"Keep it, buy your date a milkshake or something, Dumbo." Minseok put the skates on the counter with a thud. "Not from the dog shack though, Namjoon is working and you never know what you get." 

Chanyeol nodded, knowing how often the freshman had been chewed out by their manager. Saying a see you later, Chanyeol grabbed the skates and headed back over to Baekhyun who was sulking. 

"Lighten up, buttercup." Chanyeol said, placing the shoes on the floor. "We can go for shakes after this, if you want." 

Baekhyun smiled, nodding as he slipped his feet into the skates. 

"Only if I get to pay."

Chanyeol shrugged, a smile on his face. 

"We'll see."

Baekhyun rolled his eyes, standing up after he laced his shoes. Chanyeol attempted to do so, but he wasn't good at walking with normal shoes, even worse with ones that had wheels. 

"You're bad at this."

Baekhyun smiled, making Chanyeol stick his tongue out at the brunette. Wobbling over to the railing, Chanyeol managed to make it inside of the rink without falling. 

Baekhyun skated next to him, without use of the railing that Chanyeol held onto for dear life. The two laughed at how bad Chanyeol was, laughing especially hard as a child young enough to not be in school zoomed past them. 

There was something about spending time with Baekhyun that made Chanyeol giddy inside, he wouldn't be laughing this hard every time he nearly fell. There was no embarrassment, even though Baekhyun could skate circles around Chanyeol if he wanted, in fact he had at some point. 

"Come on, let's get milkshakes, Bambi."

Baekhyun teased the pink haired teen, tugging him towards the exit. Chanyeol agreed, flushed by the new nickname he'd acquired. The two skated it to seat they had been at before, removing their skates and putting on their normal shoes. 

Chanyeol returned their skates to Minseok, who winked at him. Rolling his eyes at the elder, Chanyeol went back to Baekhyun, the both of them exiting the rink. 

They headed to the nearest diner, which was only a block away thankfully. Chanyeol's legs already felt like jelly, he was definitely going to have some bruises tomorrow. 

The two went into a booth, ordering their milkshakes. Strawberry for Baekhyun, vanilla for Chanyeol. There was conversation over Chanyeol's wobbly legs, Minseok, and the hot dog shack.

When their milkshakes came, Chanyeol handed over his cherry, laughing as Baekhyun smiled at him. They drank their milkshakes, Baekhyun payed and they headed back to Baekhyun's house. 

"Bye Baekhyun."

Chanyeol waved, dropping off the elder. Baekhyun waved, although his mind seemed to be on something else. It was strange but Chanyeol didn't question it. He waited for Baekhyun to enter the house and then walked back to his own house. 

The car wasn't in the driveway and he didn't hear his sister so he assumed he was by himself. He was surprised to hear the phone ringing, but he assumed it was Yoora, probably telling him that she wouldn't be home. 

"Hello?" He answered the phone, setting his over shirt on the back of a chair. 

"Have you seen Sehun?"

Junmyeon's panicked voice carried over the line, instantly causing the hair on the back of Chanyeol's neck to stand. The last time this had happened they had found Sehun in an alley drunk and unconscious. 

"No, why?"

Chanyeol needed to know, if it was over a simple fight the younger teen was probably on his way to one of his friends houses. If it wasn't, Chanyeol didn't want to think about it. 

"We had a fight a few hours ago, he went into his room and locked the door. He's not there anymore, Yeol. He didn't even take his wallet."

Dread filled Chanyeol's stomach, this wasn't like before. Something was wrong. 

"I'll call the others, stay home in case he comes back."

Chanyeol didn't wait for the reply before he hung up. Dialing Kyungsoo, he urged for the black haired male to pick up. As soon as the phone was picked up Chanyeol questioned him, hoping that the youngest teen was with him. 

"Is Sehun with you?"

The words came out of Chanyeol's mouth as if they made him sick, the felt like poison, like they were so heavy they could crack the earth. 

"No."

A one worded reply, yet he understood the seriousness in Kyungsoo's tone. It was a never spoken fear between the eldest in their group, the fear that they wouldn't be able to find Sehun one day. 

"Call Jongin, I'm going to go look for him. If he doesn't know either check by the bars, I'll go the the fort."

Once again Chanyeol hung up without waiting for a reply. Quickly writing out a note in case his parents returned, he rushed out the door, not taking his over shirt. 

Thousands of thoughts went through his head, as he ran past dark alleys glancing in them for Sehun's body. Soon he'd gotten to the forest, one of their favorite places to play when they were younger, the place they had the first drink of alcohol. 

Sprinting through the foliage, he made through the forest in record time. Getting to the gathering of stumps that they had called their fort. 

Relief rushed through his body as he saw a body curled up next to a stump, the orange hair giving away his identity. 

"Oh Sehun, what the fuck?"

Chanyeol called, closing the distance between them. Dropping to his knees in front of the younger teen, Chanyeol forced Sehun to look at him. Quietly gasping at the sight of Sehun, Chanyeol froze. 

The younger had a split lip, bloody nose, and a black eye, that was only his face, Chanyeol couldn't imagine what his body looked like. 

"Did Junmyeon do this?"

Chanyeol whispered, rage filling his every being. This was his friend, who could do something like this to Sehun? The younger teen couldn't hurt anyone, he was all talk. 

"God no. He wishes he could, Myeon is too nice."

Sehun replied, blood dripping from his nose. Chanyeol wiped it, rubbing the blood onto his jeans. 

"What happened, Sehunnie?"

Chanyeol asked, using the younger teens nickname to calm him down. It worked, Sehun begin to spill what had happened. 

"Myeon and I fought, I told him that mom had called. He got angry at me, and I stormed off. I'm so sick of him treating me like a kid, Yeol. I'm seventeen, not three. So I jumped out the window, I forgot to grab my wallet so I couldn't go to the bar."

Sehun paused to spit out some blood, wiping his nose with his hand and then grimacing as his foot moved. 

"I went to Yixing's he was having a party so I figured I could get booze there, I did but you know me, always fucking things up. God, I messed things up so bad, Yeol."

Sehun finished, not bothering to say how he ended up here beaten and bloody. Chanyeol knew better then to ask, plus getting Sehun out of here was more important then figuring out who did this. For now. 

Helping Sehun up, Chanyeol tried to help the younger walk, telling him to avoid putting pressure on his leg. The two walked in silence, slowly getting out of the forest. They hadn't gotten very far when they ran into a tearful Jongin and a silent Kyungsoo.

"Sehun?"

Jongin cried, fresh tears falling from his eyes as he practically ran into the youngest, squeezing him as he sobbed. Kyungsoo watched, talking to Chanyeol through stares. It was a language that only they spoke, the silent questions and the quiet answers that couldn't be spoken just yet. 

"Jongin, we're taking Sehun to the hospital. Grab his other arm."

Chanyeol cut the reunion short, more worried over the pain that the younger was feeling. Jongin nodded, wiping his tears before helping carry Sehun's weight. With both of them to distribute the orange haired teens weight, they could walk faster. 

Soon enough they were at the hospital, carrying Sehun inside and receiving strange looks and glares from other patients. They quickly divided up tasks, Chanyeol would carry Sehun to a chair, Kyungsoo would call Junmyeon, and Jongin would get the papers to sign in Sehun. 

"I'm sorry."

Chanyeol turned his head, now staring at the boy sat next to him. Chanyeol smiled, staring at him before replying. 

"It's alright."  


-

Seven and a half hours had passed from the incident that the four were calling 'Sehun got his ass kicked by mystery people', Junmyeon hadn't appreciated the name. Sehun hadn't told anyone what had happened yet but Chanyeol got an inkling as to who it had been.

Junmyeon had come and finished signed the papers, hugging Sehun before the doctors had taken Sehun away to X-ray his leg. One cast later, the four teens were cramped in Junmyeon's car on the way home. It'd been a few hours since they'd all left their houses, well past their curfews. Junmyeon was taking them home to explain what was going on and to apologize to their parents for keeping them out so late.

The teens had pleaded for him not too but quickly shut up once he glared at them. Jongin and Junmyeon got out of the car first, Junmyeon telling the three that he'd be back. Jongin pressed his lips to Kyungsoo's face, wishing Chanyeol goodnight before ruffling Sehun's hair. 

"It was dad." 

Sehun whispered after a minute, looking straight ahead so he didn't see their reactions to his words. Chanyeol sighed, nodding. He had been right. Kyungsoo was silent as well, leaving the car to be obnoxiously loud with their thoughts. 

"He found me outside of the apartment. I was going to go back in. He didn't even say anything, he just kicked me. He said I was going to die and they could return back to normal with their useless son dead."

Sehun sobbed, furiously wiping his tears away. Chanyeol's hand was clenched into a fist, pissed at how his friend that felt like a younger brother had been treated. Kyungsoo was the next one to speak, also the last one to speak. 

"You aren't useless, Oh Sehun."

Harder sobs, Sehun's body shook as he cried. The eldest two were left in the backseat, unable to help. It'd been a long day, one that had started so well ended so poorly. Even if Chanyeol tried to find the positives in the hours, all he could come up with were even more negatives. 

One day, they wouldn't be around to help Sehun. They'd be all over the place, they couldn't just up and leave. What happened when Sehun couldn't feel their love anymore? Would it stop with drunken alley fights? Or would Sehun do worse, would he go through with things that he's confessed he'd though about at sleepovers. Chanyeol feared the worst. 

Junmyeon came out soon, the three as silent as before even after they dropped off Kyungsoo. When they got to Chanyeol's house, the car wasn't in the driveway. Chanyeol pleaded to just call his parents later, the two needed to get home. 

Junmyeon didn't put up a fight, Chanyeol could see the elders bags that laid under his eyes. 

"Goodnight Chanyeol."

Junmyeon said as Chanyeol opened the door, putting one foot out before speaking. 

"Tell him what happened, Sehunnie."

Shutting the door behind him, Chanyeol walked up to the front door, shocked to see someone sitting on the steps. 

"Is Sehun okay?"

Baekhyun.

Chanyeol nodded, opening up the front door and urging the other teen inside. The two made their way inside the kitchen, Chanyeol getting out mugs and making hot chocolate for the both of them.

It had been a long day. 

Once the mugs had been filled, Chanyeol offered one to the teen sat across from him. Taking a sip, Chanyeol realized Baekhyun was sat there frozen.

"What's wrong?"

Chanyeol asked, not quite understanding why the teen would be the emotional right now. They had found Sehun, he was mostly alright for the time being. It was up to Sehun what they would be doing now, if they wanted to charge Sehun's dad with assault.

"Does this happen a lot?"

Baekhyun asked his voice shaking as he gripped the mug of hot chocolate, he was so pale. Chanyeol thought over how he would reply, had this happened so often that he'd gotten numb to it?

"I'm not going to lie to you, it happens more than any of us would like. It used to be worse, almost every day. He's gotten better, this time wasn't about Sehun."

Chanyeol knew that didn't make sense, it wouldn't make sense to someone who didn't spend sleepless nights listening to someone you cared about cry. It was hard to explain to someone who hadn't had to spend hours in the dark looking for their best friend fearin that they would be dead. 

Perhaps Chanyeol had numbed himself, but he felt so much for the younger that he wouldn't be able to function without shutting himself off. 

Both were quiet, sipping their hot chocolate occasionally. It was a silence that made Chanyeol anxious, he'd been infatuated with this boy since the beginning of high school, how would he take it if Baekhyun didn't approve of Sehun. 

Tears slowly gathered in Chanyeol's eyes, pooling around his chocolate colored orbs before streaming down his cheeks, a silent sob shaking Chanyeol's body. 

When was the last time he cried? When was the last time that he allowed himself to be vulnerable?

"Okay."

Chanyeol looked up, slightly surprised by the single word. His tears clouded his vision, making the brunette across from him seem dream like, as if this was all a fantasy that Chanyeol's subconscious had created. 

Baekhyun's chair moved back with a squeak, startling Chanyeol, fearing that the teen was leaving. Instead Baekhyun closed the distance between them, his fingers wiping Chanyeol's tears, lingering on his cheeks.

"I love you," Baekhyun paused, wiping another tear From Chanyeol's eye. The pit of anxiety opened up in Chanyeol's mind and for those few second he spiraled to his worst fears, waiting for a but. It never came. "No matter what, Bambi." 

A dopey smile from Baekhyun, the one where he closed his eyes and you could see his tongue behind his teeth, the smile that erase all of Chanyeol's fears instantly. The smile that beat the sun out in brightness, the part of Baekhyun that made Chanyeol want to protect him. 

"I love you too."

Tears and all, the thoughts of being separated, the fear of what would happen to his friends not forgotten, those thought lingered in the back of his mind. Like the fear of rain on a perfect day, it was useless to worry about. 

Byun Baekhyun was Chanyeol's perfect day and he would be damned if someone took him away.


End file.
